Umbrella

The Umbrella Tree at Levens Hall, where the gardens are famed for their topiary. Shockingly - given we live only 10 minutes drive away - this was my first “proper” visit in the thirty odd years we have lived round here! I say “proper”, because we’ve walked in the Deer Park many times (especially during lockdown) and enjoyed refreshments at the cafe.
But this was an outing organised by the Bank Pensioners Club, which included guided tours of the house and gardens as well as a light lunch. And unlike the last Lake District outing organised by the club (a cruise on Ullswater) the weather today was perfect. Well, maybe a little hot out in the gardens, but there was plenty of shade available.
The guided tours were quite quick, as we were a large group and they needed to get us round before fully opening to the public. But our tickets allowed us to go around again on our own, at a more leisurely pace. There was a lot of fascinating history in the house - which has been owned by the same family for over three hundred years, though the line of descent was sometimes a little tenuous! Like most of these families, their allegiances were very flexible, depending on who it was best to keep happy and thus keep their heads. I’m guessing their biggest moment was in 1815, judging by the large amount of Waterloo related items around the house. Mrs C even featured indirectly on the tour as she was involved in creating a quilt for the Hall’s tercentenary in 1994, and said quilt was prominently displayed in one of the bedrooms!
A great day out and with the added bonus of it only taking ten minutes to get home afterwards!